Earlier this week, the Minister introduced a Bill to Parliament, to give back to the states the power to approve major coal and coal seam gas proposals, under what's known as the Water Trigger.

Former New England MP Tony Windsor spearheaded the legislation which requires the federal government to assess the impact on water resources.

Minister Hunt says it's creating too much 'green tape' and rejects Mr Windsor's claims he was recently told by the Minister it wouldn't be touched.

"That's false - what we said categorically, clearly and absolutely is we would be keeping the Water Trigger, which we are," he said.

"We are keeping the Water Trigger in full, and not just keeping it, but strengthening it.

"What we did do, and what we are doing, is we are moving to ensure that the trigger can be assessed through the 'one-stop-shop' process."

The Minister says the changes will remove unnecessary duplications in the environmental assessment and approvals process.

"The 'one-stop-shop' allows the state and Commonwealth process to be considered as a single process," Minister Hunt said.

"This is a process that we've been supporting all along, it's a process which has been in the Act since its inception in 1999, and it's an approach that we have supported all the way."

But Tony Windsor says the Federal Government is kowtowing to the mining and gas lobby.

"It's the mining industry that's been pushing this," he said.

"They had Martin Ferguson and others in the Labor government trying to stop it.

"It's been very clear that if the Coalition got into power, they would remove this part of the Bill, the Water Trigger part - the scientific work to be done at a federal level - under the guise of removing green tape."

He says it's not appropriate for the states to do the assessments.

"They're not doing it to improve it," Mr Windsor said.

"The states, who are in charge of the chicken house here, they need the royalties.

"The states will be the ones that'll do the scientific works and the Commonwealth - Greg Hunt's office and Greg Hunt himself - will just tick the box and okay it if the states say it's okay."